English Cafe

English as a Second Language Podcast www.eslpod.com ENGLISH CAFÉ – 123 TOPICS Charles Schultz and Peanuts, how to become a police officer, you and I versus you and me, yippee-ki-yay, to call dibs _____________ GLOSSARY comic strip – a series of drawings that tell a funny story, printed every day or every week in a newspaper or magazine * There was a funny comic strip about working in an office in today’s newspaper. Did you see it? to syndicate – to sell what one writes or draws to many newspapers; to sell one’s articles or comic strip to many newspapers * Dear Abby is an advice column that is syndicated to newspapers nationwide. high school yearbook – a book with many color photographs that is produced at the end of the academic year and shows what happened at a high school during that year, so that people can remember their high school experiences after they have graduated * Maxwell appears in his high school yearbook three times: on the soccer field, at the senior dance, and in chemistry lab. withdrawn – shy; timid; not interested in talking or spending time with other people; solitary; isolated * Carina is very withdrawn, always preferring to be alone with her books and music instead of spending time with friends. at its peak – at its maximum; at the highest point or amount of something * The price of oil is now at its peak; it has never been higher than it is right now. barber – a man who cuts other men’s hair * Quinton told the barber to be careful not to cut his hair too short. hairdresser – a person (man or woman) who cuts and styles other people’s hair * I need to make an appointment with a hairdresser because my hair is getting too long. 1 These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2008). Posting of these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited. English as a Second Language Podcast www.eslpod.com ENGLISH CAFÉ – 123 inferiority complex – the feeling that one is not as good, beautiful, powerful, intelligent, or important as other people * Janey has such an inferiority complex! Just because she didn’t go to college, she thinks that everyone else is smarter than she is. criminal justice – the system that a country uses to punish people who break the law and protect the rest of society from those people * Courts and prisons are part of the U.S. criminal justice system. agility – ability to move easily and quickly; flexibility * The 95-year-old man ran across the street with surprising agility. No one thought he could move that quickly! law enforcement officer – police officer; a person whose job is to make sure that other people follow the laws * The woman identified herself as a law enforcement officer and told us to leave the area. police force – the group of people who make sure that other people follow the laws; the members of one group of police officers, usually of a city or state * Timmy joined the police force when he was 19 years old because he wanted to make his city a safer place to live. civil service examination – a test taken by people who want to work in government administration; a test that the government uses to select employees for administration, but not for the military * If you want to work at the embassy, you will probably need to take the civil service examination. yippee-ki-yay – a meaningless phrase that is shouted to express enthusiasm, especially by cowboys * We’re going to Austin, Texas for summer vacation. Yippee-ki-yay! to call dibs – to have the right to use, do, or have something first, before anyone else. * I call dibs on the front seat! 2 These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2008). Posting of these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited. English as a Second Language Podcast www.eslpod.com ENGLISH CAFÉ – 123 WHAT INSIDERS KNOW Classic Comic Strips Peanuts is probably the most well known “classic” (very popular and well known) comic strip in the United States, but many others have been published a long time and are popular, too. Calvin and Hobbes was a comic strip about a little boy named Calvin and his “stuffed animal” (a soft doll made to look like an animal, as a toy for children), a tiger named Hobbes. Everyone else sees the stuffed animal, but Calvin sees a live tiger who can talk. Calvin and Hobbes have many “adventures” (exciting experiences) together that make people think about their own childhood when they had a lot of “imagination” (the ability to see and believe things that are not really happening). Calvin and Hobbes is no longer being drawn, but it is “reprinted” (old drawings are printed multiple times) in many newspapers. Another popular comic strip is Doonesbury, which is usually about what is happening in U.S. politics. For example, many of the Doonesbury strips are about the war in Iraq, and they often “feature” (show) U.S. presidents. The Far Side is not really a comic strip, because it has only one “panel” (all the drawings appear in only one square, rather than a series of drawings). It has “surreal” (dreamlike and strange) humor that often focuses on strange events in life, talking animals, and logical problems. The panels appear not only in newspapers, but also on “coffee mugs” (large ceramic cups used for drinking coffee), calendars, and posters, especially in offices. Finally, Cathy is another popular comic strip about a young single woman and the “struggles” (difficult things) that she faces in life. The comic strip is often about the humor in shopping, taking care of a house, working, and romance. The comic strip often “deals with” (covers a certain topic) society’s expectations of women. 3 These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2008). Posting of these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited. English as a Second Language Podcast www.eslpod.com ENGLISH CAFÉ – 123 COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT You’re listening to ESL Podcast’s English Café number 123. This is the English Café episode 123. I’m your host, Dr. Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development in beautiful Los Angeles, California. Visit our website at eslpod.com to download a Learning Guide for this episode. You can also take a look at our ESL Podcast Store, which has some business and personal English courses to help you improve your English even faster. On this Café, we’re going to talk about Charles Schultz, one of the most famous American cartoonists of the 20th century. He is the person behind the Peanuts cartoons, which have become very popular in many countries. We’ll talk about him and his life. We’ll also talk about becoming a police officer in the United States; what are the procedures, what are the things that you have to do to become a “cop,” as we sometimes call them. As always, we’ll answer a few of your questions. Let’s get started. When I was growing up, one of the most popular comic strips was something called Peanuts. A “comic strip” is a funny drawing that appears in the newspaper. Usually there are three or four drawings that tell a small story, and the most popular comic strip in the United States was Peanuts by Charles Schultz. It had characters such as a dog named Snoopy and a boy named Charlie Brown. The person who created and drew the comic strip Peanuts was called Charles Schultz. Schultz began the Peanuts comic strip back in October of 1950, and it continued to “run,” that is, it continue to be published until February of the year 2000, so nearly 50 years. During that 50 years more than 17,000 comic strips were published. When the comic strip was “at its peak,” that is, when it was most popular, it ran in over 2,600 newspapers and had more than 350 million people in 75 countries who read it. Perhaps you have read a version of the Peanuts comic strip in your own language. Charles Schultz was an interesting man. He was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, but he was raised in St. Paul, Minnesota. That’s where he grew up – that’s where he spent his early childhood and teenage years. St. Paul is famous, of course, for producing famous and talented people! He was an only child; his parents had no other children. He grew up in St. Paul; he actually went to high 4 These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2008). Posting of these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited. English as a Second Language Podcast www.eslpod.com ENGLISH CAFÉ – 123 school at a place where my father went to high school. He was two years younger than my father, I believe. The tradition in American high schools is at the end of the year they publish a book called a “yearbook” that contains all the pictures of all of the students, and my father has a yearbook where he has the signature of Charles Schultz, who, of course, was not famous when he was in high school when my father knew him. Schultz became a “cartoonist,” that is, someone who draws cartoons or comic strips. He first worked for the local newspaper in St. Paul, Minnesota. He eventually got what we would call a “syndicated” comic strip.

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